For
five days last fall, seven Tibetan Buddhist monks presented a program of
traditional music, art, dance, philosophy, and religion at the College.
The
highlight of their visit was the construction of a colorful sand mandala of
compassion in the Nott Memorial, a meticulous process that took three days and
ended in traditional fashion with the dismantling of the mandala.
The
monks were from the Gaden Jangtse monastery in India, and their visit to the
United States combined teaching about the culture and religion of Tibet with
raising money to build a new prayer hall for their overcrowded monastery. The
original monastery was established in 1409 but was destroyed by the invading
Chinese army. The monastery-in-exile was built in India in 1969 for 300 monks;
it now houses 3,000 monks.
The
monks spent about ten months in the United States, visiting colleges and
temples, and their visit to Union attracted hundreds of students – from the
College as well as local schools – and residents of the area. Clearly, all were
enthralled with the mandala.
The
monks, dressed in maroon and saffron robes, worked on a board placed in the
center of the Nott. Sitting on cushions, they leaned over so their faces were
only inches from the mandala. They poured colored sand using metal funnels
called chak phu, scooping up sand in one funnel and then rubbing the other
against its grated surface so the sand would flow onto the board. As visitors
crowded around to watch, the only sound was the clicking of the chak phu. Finally,
in keeping with the belief that in life there is a beginning, a middle, and an
end to everything, they dismantled the mandala in a ceremony that featured lama
dances. Grains of sand were given to each person watching the ceremony, with
the remainder released into the nearby Mohawk River.